Revealed, there could be a surprising health benefit to being on the Pill

Aside from preventing pregnancy, it seems that the contraceptive pill may have another helpful quality

Revealed

By Natalie Keegan

8th August 2016, 12:59 pm

Updated: 8th August 2016, 12:59 pm

GOOD news ladies, your birth control may have a hidden beneficial side effect.

Aside from preventing pregnancy, it seems that the contraceptive pill may have another helpful quality.

Getty Images

American scientists have found that being on the pill could help increase vitamin D levels by a whopping 20 per cent

American scientists have found that being on the pill could help increase vitamin D levels by a whopping 20 per cent - especially for those who live in the not-so-sunny UK.

Approximately one in five people in the UK suffer from low levels of vitamin D – which is usually caused from a lack of exposure to sunlight.

RELATED STORIES

Baby brewing

Could your cup of tea leave you PREGNANT? If you're on the Pill, you need to know this

emergency advice

REVEALED: Being over 11st could make the morning after pill less effective

Tablet trauma

The contraception pill is playing with your emotions… and here’s why

is it safe?

Should you take pills to delay your period before jetting off on your holiday? Here's what you need to know...

HEALTH BOOST

Think vitamin pills are a waste of time? This is the one you really SHOULD take, says the government

A recent study, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, measured the vitamin D levels of around 1,700 African-American women (those with dark skin are more likely to be vitamin D deficient) aged between 23 and 34.

Participants provided a blood sample and were asked to complete questionnaires asking whether they used any form of hormonal birth control or health supplements.

Getty Images

Approximately one in five people in the UK suffer from low levels of vitamin D

The results showed that women who were currently taking hormonal contraception that contained oestrogen had higher levels of vitamin D in their body than those who didn’t.

Whilst researchers aren't sure what's causing this, the fact that use of the birth control was associated with the increase suggests that the Pill was playing a major role in this rise.

This may be good news for those taking the Pill, but Quaker Harmon, MD, Phd, lead author on the study, warned that women who stop their Pill to try for a baby may be at risk of lowering their vitamin D levels.

Getty Images

The results showed that women who were currently taking hormonal contraception that contained oestrogen had higher levels of vitamin D

He said: “Women who discontinue oestrogen-containing contraception to start a pregnancy attempt may be at risk of falling (vitamin D) during the important preconception and early gestation period.

“For women who are planning to stop using birth control, it is worth taking steps to ensure that vitamin D levels are adequate while trying to conceive and during pregnancy.”